"I AM"

In today's gospel it is written that many came to believe in Jesus. "Are we not among them? Those who come to believe and embrace Him especially as we come near the final part of this Lenten journey. All who have been baptized should live this faith. Jesus described in the gospel that He is going away. It is a prediction of His passion, death and resurrection. Jesus is lifted up in the crucifixion and resurrection and these are the events that lead to eternal life. He said to the Pharisees, "Where I am going you cannot come" and also said,"...the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world.” It is not passed on like whispering a secret but the Christian truth is proclaimed from the roof tops. Jesus had spoken in the temple area so it is today in the church being proclaimed daily to the world. God wants all people to be saved but we have to believe. We need to come to the core of the revelation. What is Jesus saying? Going back to Moses when he asked what he's going to tell the people, God said, "I AM" Jesus too, said "I AM." He is claiming to be Divine and He is God. They refuse to accept. Those who do not believe that He is God only tell that He is just upright and righteous. We have to realize that an upright and devout man does not claim to be God, it's either He is really God or a lunatic. The title "I AM" is always taken from the context of God saving his people from distress, captivity and slavery. God has heard His people cry, wanted to set them free and claim their promised land. We can also see from Isaiah 45, God raised up King Cyrus to set the people free, and several times mentioned God referred to as "I Am" This is to emphasize that God wants to rescue His people and save them. In today's gospel in John 28, Jesus said again, "I AM" talking in the context of freedom from sin. He said, For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” He sets us free from this dominion of sin but we fail to trust Him. Just as we see in today's 1st reading in Numbers "...But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses." We, too are guilty of the same attitude at times. It would be nice if at once we received Jesus then we will be ushered into the perfect freedom, inability to sin anymore and the resurrection from death. Nevertheless, we still have this journey to make, have to battle, and fight even when they came in the promised land. We're all in a journey. Looking back at these very people in Deuteronomy 1. It took them 40 yrs to travel in the desert when all it takes is just 2 weeks. They wandered because of their lack of trust. They initially went to scout the land and came back with a report. The majority said that they can't do it because there are giants in the promised land and would just be like grasshoppers. They're stupid and forgot one basic fact, God is giving them the land. They forgot who was talking to them. When we believe "I AM", the great exile should come to mind, when they were freed from Egypt and should speak confidence. In our present time we should believe that we can overcome, social injustice, sin and the culture of death. We have to believe in that because it is Almighty God telling them to come. We don't fault them for seeing those realities, the giants and scary things in the promised land but we fault them for not trusting. When they complained against God, it is an insult to God for 2 reasons, first they forgot that God provides and God did provide the manna all the time and also of water from the rock through God's power. In fact in 1 Cor. St Paul speaks of this water from the rock that followed them as they journeyed and the rock was Christ, "I AM" Jesus was with them in the desert. He is the same God as yesterday. We must trust God at all times. These people in the desert lost their patience however, was worn out and complained. We do an examination of conscience, do we grumble like this? Sometimes we doubt if jesus is really with us in this journey. When we are trying to live the faith, being ridiculed, made fun of while others are having all the fun. Whenever we are fasting and resisting temptation we a;so may come to a point when like these people would rather go back to Egypt and slavery. When we embark the journey of the Christian faith and indeed try to live up to all the teachings of the church, time will come when it is easier to say to say “Let's go back to our own Egypt.” But Jesus said, my yoke is easy and burden light. Let us not be fooled for the sins are the heavier burden. We have to embrace Jesus, the one who comes to save and have more confidence than ever in “I AM” that sets me free and truly believe we have eternal life. Amen. Hallelujah!

Numbers 21:4-9
...Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, 8 and the LORD said to Moses, “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover.” 9 Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.


Psalms 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21
R: O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
...Hide not your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily...



John 8:21-30
...The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” 30 Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.